


Gaze

by herasux



Category: One Piece
Genre: Implied Relationships, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-09 15:16:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herasux/pseuds/herasux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He'll never forget what that Shit Cook had said, but maybe that had been the beginning of it all? HIATUS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Memories and Early Mornings

**Author's Note:**

> This will be taking place before the Dressrosa Arc.

_Zoro could smell smoke, associated with fire, of course, but more so with Sanji who was known to smoke at least a few times a day. Why the hell was the Shit Cook showing up in **his** dream, anyway? He sure as hell didn't want that lovestricken bastard plauging him in his dreams now - no - this had to be a goddamn nightmare. _

_Shit._

_Glancing around, his good eye searched almost feverishly for a sign of blond hair or a glimpse of that ridiculously curly brow of his, but found not one trace of the girl-crazy idiot anywhere._

**Hah.**

_Was he laughing at him? Damn Shit Cook._

_Zoro scowled in his sleep, definetely not liking where this was heading, and worse was the fact that the asshole hadn't even revealed himself - wait - !_

_Appearing before Zoro, flickering into existence was Sanji, dressed even flasher than he had been two years ago. In his hands were a lighter and a cigarette, but he pressed the latter between his lips gracefully before lighting the stick as though he had been doing it all his life._

_His dark gaze bore into Zoro as the lighter was tucked away safely into his pocket, that curled brow present as a familiar grin began to creep onto his face._

_Oh how he wanted to wipe that damn smile off his face with his fist, but he was stuck where he stood, as usual, one hand on his blade in a familiar fighting stance._

**After an emotional loss, of course you're _irritatable._**

**_..._ **

_What the hell? How dare he bring that up again? Of course he had been irritated - **furious** was more like it because how dare Nami act so cold towards the Sniper in death - how dare she claim to have _ killed _him? In some ways, they were the same._

**You don't know a damn thing, Dartboard Brow!**

Sanji's comment from long ago echoed once and back again and _again_ in Zoro's mind, making the swordsman's lone eye snap open, pupil dilated with anger as his breathing came out as sharp pants; he had managed not to rise up from bed suddenly, so that was a small victory, at least. The Boys' quarters were still dark, giving way to the fact that it was still very early in the morning. He had to calm down though, less one of the others wake up from their beds and question his heavy breathing - doing _that_ sort of thing was the last thing on his mind, anyway, but it was better not to give them even a seed to plant in their minds, especially Luffy.

More importantly, this was the third time he had had this dream - that he had to listen to that blonde idiot spout his careless words! Sanji was different now - they were all more like a family then ever nowadays, but when he had said that ... He hadn't even had an inkling of faith in the sniper. Sure, he had been weak back then, but for all his cowardly ways, he hadn't seemed like the type to just ... die. It was comparable to Luffy, really, his determination.

Nami's own comment had pushed him over the edge after. _Kuina_ ... his Oath towards striking women hadn't mattered then. Back then, Nami had deserved to taste his blade for killing Usopp - like Luffy had believed it anyway... Fortunately, Sanji had gotten invovled, unknowingly saving Zoro from a mistake he'd probably be regretting for the rest of his life. Usopp had lived. That kind of burden - of Nami's _revenge filled_ death - wasn't something he could've dealt with easily.

Maybe ... Maybe he had reacted too harshly, but something inside him had just snapped like a twig giving way to the overwhelming pressure of a boot. Of course, he had calmed down since then. He wasn't the same person he was before, channeling his anger at least - or rather, he really did stick to his Oath, well, outside of showing some mercy if he really did have to fight a woman.

Damn Harpy.

God, just about everyone on that damned island had been sick in the mind aside from the soldiers there who were just being strung along by that clown faced scientist, Kin'emon, Law (though you never knew with that guy), the Navy and the children, of course.

Closing his eye, he calmed his breathing and laid there for a few minutes before opening it once more. The quietness of the Boys' Quarters had told him that no one was awake or least they were doing a great job of faking it. Brook's shift was probably over though, so the swordsman got out of bed and dressed in warmer clothing before heading out of the large room onto the grassy deck.

His dark boots shuffled lightly against the artificial, forever green grass, but it was soft - easy to fall asleep on as though the grass had been worn down constantly by a heavy body; it only took but a minute or so to get over to the crow's nest and call out to Brook, waving an arm up slightly when the skeleton peered over the edge with a large grin. The now rather awake swordsman watched his fellow swordsman jump down from the crow's nest, landing neatly before Zoro and maybe he was being a little mean, but he couldn't help but think that Brook had just showed off a bit by doing that. It really was too damn early for this, but if he went back to sleep, he just might have that dream again, and he didn't want to confront that.

" _Ah_ , thank you very much, Zoro-san," Brook commented, tipping his hat before moving his hands to his face and rubbed his cheeksbones lightly. "I was sure my skin was beginning to freeze! ...Oh, but I don't have any skin, do I? Yo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!"

Zoro's one good eye stared at the skeleton, clearly unamused by his joke - and Brook really had a _lot_ of those - before waving a hand and moved to climb the ladder than lead up to the crow's nest. He shivered lightly as he swung a leg over to climb inside the tub-sized area because at this time of day it was always the coldest and settled down, manuevering his swords a bit before folding his arms tightly across his chest. While the coldest time of the day, there were just a few more hours until the sun rose over the horizon, so there was that at least, but this cold was nothing compared to Punk Hazard; of course, he had dealt with that place just fine. A little early morning air was good for the body; being awake on nights like this kind of felt like training anyway.

~ * ~

When the sun had finally begun to peek over the horizon in a lazy way, slowly seeming to crawl from the depths of the sea, Zoro yawned, loudly as he raised one fist to rub at his good eye lightly before stretching out some. Sitting in such a position, unmoving for at least 2 hours straight was more than enough time for his body to begin feeling numb and uncomfortable - nothing a bit of stretching couldn't fix though. He would have nothing to report though, which was good as for now, the day seemed to be a calm one. Maybe it would last a while, but eventually, the sun rose to its highest point in the sky, stretching out its warm rays to comfort the swordsman cold form as though to apologize for the night's chill. Shifting a bit at the warmth on his face and chest, he grunted in approval and tipped his head back some as he decided to bask in the feeling of warmth.

_"Nami-swaaan~! Robin-chwaaan~!"_

Zoro tensed at the sound of the cook's voice, unable to help himself from doing so as that dream flickered into focus in his mind. The damned grin was back, maybe a bit wider than before, but there was something in Sanji's eyes that told him he just might know something that Zoro didn't, and that only pissed him off more. He had to move and put his negative energy towards doing something constructive, like training. It was about that time anyway, so he swung one leg over the tub-like barrel that was the crow's nest and descended down the ladder quickly. Loosening his sash once he was standing on the deck once more, he shuffled towards the bench Frank had recently installed (which sat near his weights), took off his jacket, and dropped both items on said bench before moving towards the closest weight which while not the heaviest, was damn close to it. In the middle of a few arm reps, Sanji's voice cut through his counting like a knife through butter.

**After an emotional loss, of course you're _irritatable._**

Nami had been sitting out on the deck in her normal attire of a swimsuit top, jeans, and heels with a book in her hands when she had paused upon seeing the blond cook heading to the galley.

" _Sanji-kun_ , can I have some orange juice, please?" she asked, sitting up some as she set the book down in her lap as she graced him with a smile that had a bit of a flirty nature to it.

"Of course Nami-swan~! You are looking extra beautiful today~!"

Sanji's lovestruck look was hard to miss as he feasted his eyes on Robin who was sitting out on the library/observatory's upper deck (where a separate garden from Nami's tangerine trees sat) under a pool chair that had been fitted with a large, brightly colored umbrella; in her hands was a leatherbound book that she had been reading for the last few minutes that was highly likely to be written in a language only she could decipher. She was wearing a dark purple shirt today with a tantilizing v-neck, formfitting jeans that captured every curve, and heels that complimented and accented the arch of her feet. All in all, she was one beautiful, classy lady that the blond couldn't help but fall for simply by looks alone. No scale could capture her or Nami-swan's beauty and put a number on it!

"And you, lovely Robin-chwan~?" He had to yell a bit due to the distance, but she seemed to have heard him just fine as she put down her book and offered one of her rare, but oh so beautiful smiles.

"Tea would be nice," she commented, unable to help but chuckle slightly as the cook's expression turned utterly lovesick.

"It should be every man's dream to serve such beautiful ladies - _OI,_ you shitty moss head! Don't you know it's rude to show your scarred body while in the presence of ladies?!"

Having spun away, turning his back to Robin to take just one more look at Nami, he had finally seemed to notice the swordsman and the fact that he was showing off his scarred, shitty body as usual. The women really didn't need to be graced with such a disturbing vision like that, of course, he had to try to "talk some sense" into the idiot. Zoro had no sense of deceny, at all. It was disgusting.

Tightening his grip on the overly large weight in his right hand, his jaw clenched lightly. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't getting really tired of hearing the Shit Cook's voice in his mind so often, saying _that_. He was insinuating something on top of being an asshole, and the swordsman didn't like it one bit. At the comment directed towards him however, he proceeded to ignore it entirely and returned to his reps and started over.

A particular biting comment about Zoro's hearing ability had been working its way onto the cook's lips when he was tackled out of nowhere by Luffy, but managed not to hit the grassy deck with a thump this time.

"Sanji, I'm hungry!" he complained, squeezing at the cook with his rubbery limbs. "We're having _meat_ today right?! I want meat - lots of meat! No vegetables!"

"Get the hell off me, you idiot! I'm **only** serving the ladies right now!"

This prompted the Captain to whine until he was kicked off forcibly. Of course, that didn't stop Luffy from commenting that Sanji add extra meat to today's breakfast.

Brook exited the Boys' Quarters, strumming a tune on his guitar before it turned into a full out, upbeat song to compliment the fact that it looked to be a beautiful day.

Down below, Usopp and Franky were quietly tinkering with making a man-made dendenmushi that not only functioned as a calling device, but also a projection device as the dendenmushi projectors were simply too large to lug around comfortably. To be honest though, the dendenmushi were rather _complicated_ despite the fact that they looked really simple. Maybe they were that way for a reason.

Chopper had yet to come out of the infirmary wing, insistent on reorganizing his equipment and stock for easier access, but he was probably just nitpicking at the little things such as the bandages moving from their position in one of the lower cabinets to a drawer so he wouldn't have to stoop so low. The silence and loneliness of the infirmary was welcome, meaning that none of his nakama were in trouble, but it could also be worrying, especially when things go too well.

When his thoughts drifted towards the kids who had been rescued from Punk Hazard, he couldn't help but focus on Mocha; she had been brave, so very brave - probably the bravest kid of the bunch and from her actions, she had obviously held so much love for her own nakama, enough to risk her own life for their safety. That was true friendship, a rare sort of thing practically unheard of for kids, but Mocha had proved that even that sort of loyalty existed among kids, too.

A smile began to stretch itself onto Chopper's face as he handled the bandage rolls carefully.

Hopefully, those kids were doing well.


	2. Breakfast Antics and Idle Gazes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite being their great Captain, Luffy was still prone to stealing food, and Zoro seemingly hadn't noticed the first time only because he was too busy throwing discreet glances at Usopp.

Now that breakfast had been served, the Straw Hat Pirates - aside from Sanji who preferred to eat once everyone had been fed - were sitting down to a delicious meal at the large, rectangular table (anchored to the floor for safety precautions) that sat in the middle of the kitchen.

Starting clockwise with Luffy at the head of the table, Nami sat to his left, following with Franky, an empty seat that Sanji usually sat in, and Usopp; Chopper sat at the other end of the table across from Usopp with Zoro sitting to his left followed by Brook and Robin. The opposite end of Luffy was without a chair, but _one day_ , it just might be filled.

It was peaceful for the most part as everyone dug into the beautiful spread before them, and it was at times like this, seeing the happy faces of his nakama - even that idiot moss head - that Sanji was happy to be apart of Luffy's crew. A lit cigarette was perched between his lips as he leaned back against the counter; eventually, Luffy would request a bit more food which would cause him to yell at the rubberman for being so hungry all the time, but he'd fix it anyway, like usual unless he was feeling particularly pissed. Aside from that, the pleasured looks on Nami's and Robin's face were exquisite.

"The Sea King sausage is delicious as ever, Sanji-kun," Robin complimented the blond cook as she chewed daintily, but said sausage was beginning to disappear since it had 1) been praised by Robin and 2) was a form of meat by none other than Luffy. Of course, Zoro also had a couple of sausages on his plate, too, that hadn't been touched yet.

"The scrambled Spice eggs go well with them, adding a spicy kick to the flavor of the sausage," Nami said, also praising Sanji and idly wondered if the blond would use the Spice Eggs in other breakfast dishes as they continued to sail in the New World.

Luffy chewed noisily, obviously agreeing with Robin and Nami both and tried his hand at speaking.

"Deh deggs 'r 'k, buth tha meef if greaf! (The eggs are okay, but the meat is great!)"

"Chew your food, you idiot!" Sanji scowled, disgusted by the combination of food he could see in his Captain's mouth. "Thank you, Nami _-swan,_ Robin- _chwan_! I live to only serve you lovely mademoiselles!"

Robin chuckled at the exchange between the Cook and Captain, making Nami smile.

"The Cola-Syrup Pancakes are _SUUUPERRR_!" crowed Franky before he stuffed one into his mouth, pulling the fork out cleanly and chewed enthusiastically, and Chopper - who had a much smaller plate of pancakes - agreed with a happy blush.

Brook quietly sipped at his SeaCow King milk, delighted by the sweet taste and smooth quality of it; he wasn't very much of a sweets person, but the milk was very good. Putting down his glass for a moment, he had to inquire if there was more as he wouldn't mind a glass later on.

"Sanji-san, do we anymore SeaCow King milk left?" he questioned before moving to sample one of the Sea King sausages that the rest of the crew seemed to be enjoying.

"Mh? Ah, yeah. Aside from what's in the cooling pitcher, there's also a normal pitcher in the fridge."

Brook responded with a gleefully laugh in a way that only he could ( _"Yo ho ho!"_ ) as he inwardly tried to make up his mind on the taste of the Sea King sausage and snatched another one from the plate for a second sampling.

Usopp was also making use of the delicious Cola Syrup by drizzling it over his French Toast which had just the right amount of chewiness and fluffiness to leave the Sniper in heaven. A tall glass of orange juice went well with it. Today, he seemed to have been working with gunpowder and oil as there were smudges of it on his forehead, cheeks, and even the tip of his nose. However, while he was enjoying his breakfast, a lone hawk-like dark eye peered at him from across the table.

Zoro sized Usopp up quietly as he shoveled a forkful of scrambled Spice Eggs into his mouth, enjoying the spicy flavor that heated his tastebuds; the sausages had been left untouched for now and that, of course, would be the swordsman's mistake. It was surprising to see the tremendous amount of work the Sniper had put into his body. To be honest, Usopp had been rather puny - possibly even slightly thinner than Luffy - back then, and that just wasn't a manly look at all. Combined with the fact that he was one of the more emotional, easily scared members of the crew despite his radical boasting, there hadn't been many enemies that had taken Usopp seriously.

Unbeknown to the Swordsman, one rubbery hand had already taken two of the Sea King sausages from the large pile on his plate.

Maybe that was the reason why he had created the Alter Ego _Sogeking_ , but even with the added confidence on his back _that_ could shoot down to zero as it had while they had been fighting one of those Zoan-types during the time they had been handcuffed. Thinking back on it, that had been silly as Usopp masked as Sogeking had functioned as "Hana Arashi". The name had the swordsman almost snorting outloud, but despite that, he had executed his attacks anyway.

When Usopp looked up, Zoro returned to inspecting his plate just moments before and pinched Luffy's hand as he began to move towards it.

"Zorooo, you aren't even eating them!" he whined, eyeing the Sea King sausage with a drooling mouth as his hand snapped back to his side.

Said Swordsman scowled, shoveling another forkful of scrambled Spice Eggs into his mouth and stuffed a Sea King sausage inside after a moment's thought. The combination was pretty tasty - not that he'd ever compliment the Shit Cook, especially not with that damned dream still plaguing him.

"Get the Cook to make you some _more_ ," he growled lightly as he chewed with a closed mouth. He'd be damned if he let Luffy take anything more off of his plate now that he had tasted the combination for himself and reached forward to take a crispy buttered roll from the basket before him, biting into that. Near his plate was a big mug of orange juice that was two-thirds full, but the wooden exterior was slightly wet as the mug had spilled a bit when he had poured some in the beginning.

"But Zoro - Sanjiiiiii! Meat! We need more sausages!"

"Tch!"

Rolling his eyes, Sanji had the fire on in an instant and retrieved a few more sausages from the fridge. Cracking a few Spice Eggs, he put them on a pan and settled it ontop the fire before cutting up the sausages. Those were added in soon enough and even a few slices of _thick ham_ (which was known to fill up the eater at least three times more than the usual ham did) was added to the pan for an overall "ham and eggs + sausage!" kind of deal. The aroma was delicious, so much so that Luffy couldn't stop himself from drooling as he waited - more than a little interested in the special dish that was being made for him.

Usopp let loose a bit of a pleasured noise, showing his appreciation for the fact that there was French Toast on the table as one of the breakfast items in the morning. To be honest, as a kid, he had only ever had it once, but now that he was trying it again as an adult - no, a brave warrior of the sea! - it tasted ten times better. His lips had curved into a smile around his fork, idly wondering if Sanji would be open to teaching him how to cook the French Toast - not that he didn't think Sanji's cooking was amazing already! The fact that he'd be able to cook it for himself whenever he wanted sent a pleasant hum shifting through his body, and since the Cook was more inclined to serve the women than the men, it was all the more reason to learn how to make it!!

Now, Zoro was a man who knew about sex with women - and men, thanks to that pervert, Mihawk, not that he laid down and took it like a needy woman! - but to hear a similar sound coming from one of his nakama - no, another man - no, coming from _Usopp_ made him stiffen as his heart skipped a beat, especially given the fact that that reoccuring dream was messing with his mind! Holding onto the crispy roll, he took a large gulp of his orange juice and licked his lips lightly at the coolness that seemed to spread throughout his chest. There was no reason to get worked up. Mihawk had sounded vastly different from the noise that Usopp had just made and he hadn't even _reacted_ the way he did when Mihawk made his move at night. Of course, he and Usopp were neither in the right place, at the right time, or even naked for that matter - wait - how had his thoughts turned down this path?!

Seeing as she was done now, Nami pushed her plate aside and stretched before standing. Turning her gaze to Sanji, she gave him a smile and winked at the blond.

"Don't forget to bring me a special after-breakfast drink, Sanji-kun," she purred as she exited the galley as the Cook's lovestruck gaze followed her until she was out of sight completely.

_"O - Of course Nami-chaaan~!"_

Damnit. Did doing that perverted stuff with Mihawk mean that any sort of noise from another sort of man - even his fellow nakama - would effect him in _that_ way? That couldn't be true! 

Feeling a bit angry at himself for even beginning to think about that with Usopp who was his _nakama (_ and also a man who had his back during times when they were surrounded in this New World), he distracted himself with his scrambled Spice Eggs and Sea King sausage as Luffy was served the new dish Sanji had just gotten finished with cooking. He didn't even want to think about responding in any adult way towards noises that Franky, Sanji, or Luffy made, especially Sanji since it was that bastard showing up in his dreams that had started all of this! Luffy just ... he just seemed too innocent and uninterested in that kind of thing, and there was also the fact that Luffy was his Captain and that was all he would ever looked towards the younger man as despite also being his Nakama. It would be no good to cross that line, and besides, he already had that Hancock chick chasing after him anyway. Franky was just too ... Zoro had _never_ , **ever** had an inkling towards feeling that way for the Cyborg, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the blue haired, speedo-wearing idiot had left someone back home, anyway.

"Now shut up and eat!"

"Oooooo!!" Luffy exclaimed with a starry-eyed expression, beginning to dig into the meal at lightning speed with his fork. "Fan ku Sanki! (Thank you Sanji!)"

The blond cook couldn't help but cringe at the sound of Luffy's butchered words due to the fact that his mouth was stuffed with food, but this time, he hadn't even looked at his Captain as he didn't want to see the ghastly combination of his perfect food in the entrance of that bottomless pit the rubberman called his stomach.

 Franky, Brook, and Chopper leaned forward, almost overwhelmed by the combined smell that was wafting off of Luffy's plate unable to help themselves from whining.

" **EH**?! We want special meals too!" they chimed together, looking expectant.

Sanji glared at the trio, now frustrated at their antics because really, they were acting like children even though Chopper actually _was_ a child.

"NO! ONLY IDIOT CAPTAINS GET THIS KIND OF SPECIAL DISH! EAT YOUR OWN FOOD OR _GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN_!"

While Brook and Chopper sported equal teary-eyed looks, Franky shrugged and stuffed another forkful of pancakes into his mouth, chewing quite happily and caring less about what Luffy was eating already. It didn't take long for the pair to do the same, munching quite happily as the spread slowly, but surely grew smaller.

However, once Robin left ("Breakfast was delicious. Thank you, Sanji-kun." "You're welcome, Robin- _chwaaaan_ ~!"), there was no more eye candy for Sanji to feast on and course he kicked the rest of his male nakama out once he had deemed that they had eaten enough to last until lunchtime. There was also the fact that he had to eat his own breakfast, and to be honest, he preferred to eat it alone once he had deemed it a job well done after feeding his nakama to the best of his ability.

Glancing out of one of the portholes near the stove as he pressed a forkful of Sea King sausage past his lips, he allowed himself to relax as he idly decided that he'd have to get Usopp and Luffy to catch some decent fish for them to eat as a main dish for today's lunchtime meal.


End file.
